The frequency of pregnancy-associated breast diseases: a prospective cross sectional study

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Background. Breast masses are common findings that observed during pregnancy, lactation or within one year after giving birth. The breast is a hormone-sensitive organ that subjects to various changes in response to hormonal changes. This study targets to identify the various types of breast masses, including benign and malignant lesions that may arise during pregnancy. Patients and methods. This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted between June 2022 and December 2023 and enrolled 200 women who presented with breast lumps during pregnancy. All women were subjected to a thorough physical examination and investigations, including full blood picture, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and CA15-3 tumor marker. To confirm the diagnosis, all women had ultrasound examinations and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). Those with suspicion of malignancy underwent ultrasound-guided biopsy. Results. The range of ages of participants were extend from 19 to 50 years with a range gestational age of 12 to 40 weeks. Our results showed that the highest percentage of women presented with breast lesions was in the age group of 19-30 years (about 57.5% of cases), while in the age groups of (31-40 and 41-50) years, the percentage of affected pregnant women were 28% and 14.5%, respectively. Moreover, the final diagnosis of various breast lesions predominantly revealed benign breast masses, in approximately 98% of cases. Out of the total patients, 81 (40.5%) were diagnosed with fibroadenomas, which are the most prevalent benign breast masses. Next, lactating adenomas, which affected up to 25% of women, followed by galactoceles, which were discovered in 22% of women, along with papillomas, which identified in 21 women (10.5% of the total). Breast cancer, on the other hand, had the lowest prevalence among the pregnant women compared to benign breast lesions, where only five cases were reported (about 2% of all cases). Conclusions. The breast cancer was discovered in only 2% of cases, while the majority of the breast lumps, which observed during pregnancy, were benign with fibroadenoma being the most common entity, following by lactating adenoma, galactocele and finally papilloma.